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Four Tips to Help you Plan your Next Island Vacation

Often times people leave from the comfort of their home for vacation, honeymoon or just to get away. These trips can be stressful, if you have never been to a certain location before.

Uvero Alto, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

I love traveling and I'm lucky to have a partner that feels the same!
These tips will help you take advantage of the good points about travel and prepare you for your trip.

Read everything

I get on tripadvisor before I book ANY vacation.

Make sure that your hotel has a good rating before you book. On tripadvisor, it's very easy to tell which review is a rant vs. facts. Trust your gut and pick a place that has points on your must have list. I stayed at a resort in Uvero Alto, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic which had an adult only section, a swim out pool and butler service. So dreamy! I chose it over an all-ages resort with beachfront properties. Some of you guys might think i'm crazy but I read on tripadvisor that -that particular beach can get plagued with seaweed in the middle of the week...When was I going? In the middle of the week! I saved myself a lot of stress.

Uvero Alto, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

Safety

Do NOT leave the resort without a tour guide or someone who knows the landscape. I remember going to Jamaica and even though I am Jamaican- I did not venture to parts that I did not know solo. Unless one of my husband or my family members picked me up.Or I was leaving with those massive Tour bus. I was not going. You could be going to the safest place ever but if you do not know the landscape...stick to what you know. Hotel security is there for a reason. Don't let me start with stories about people getting robbed.

Bottled water is your best friend

And a lot of these other countries purify their water in different ways than North America or Europe. It's 50/50 chance if it will work for your stomach. Nobody has the time to be spending your full vacation on the toilet. Always drink bottled water if you can. I also know that water purifying tablets can be purchased as well, if needed.

Ask a lot of questions & research

Let's bring it all the way back... I have a funny story. A while back on my first vacation in Cuba with some of my friends we signed up for an excursion which included driving a car. We all drive automatic cars- so we had nothing to worry about. We asked our rep if the car was automatic- he assured us that it was. Once we got there, we realized that it ONLY manual cars. There were NO automatic cars available on site. To make things worse.. nobody in our group knew how to comfortably drive a manual car- except my friend's boyfriend who only had two lessons.

Probably one of the most dangerous drives that I have ever been on. We all could have been dangerously hurt! This could've been totally avoided by doing some research online.

1 comment
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I love the Caribbean and explore different islands once a year. I'm often saddened by the forced having to remain on a resort on an island where I don't know locals, but hearing stories of friends and colleagues who've gotten robbed in the same places validate your advice lol. Thanks!